Robert yoakum



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

R. YOAKUM.

PORTABLE FOLDING POULTRY COOP.

Patented Jan. 28, 1890. Z: .Z

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R. O YOAKUM. PORTABLE FOLDING POULTRY COOP.

No.420260. 1533%; 69 Jan. 8- 8 0,

ATTORNEY.

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT YOAKUM, OF DENISON, TEXAS, AS SIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO LEWIS O. ANDERSON.

PORTABLE FOLDING PQU LTR .Y -,C.OO P.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 420,260, dated. January 28, 1890.

Application filed August 9, 1889.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT YOAKUM, of Denison, in the county of Grayson and State of Texas, have invented a new and Improved Portable Folding Poultry-Coop, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to an improvement in portable folding poultry-coops, and more particularly to a'coop or crate used in the transportation of fowls to market by rail or boat.

My invention consists in certain features of construction and combination of parts, which will be hereinafter described, and indicated in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a side elevation taken on the line a; in Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the portable poultry-coop. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the device when it is folded for close packing, the lid being removed. Fig. 4 is an edge view of the coop when it is folded with the lid in place thereon. Fig. 5 represents one corner of the coop with the top or lid slightly elevated to show the plan of construction thereof, a novel form of door-latch being also shown. Fig. 6 isa cross-section of a self-feeding food-magazine, and Fig. 7 is a transverse sectional view of a self-feeding safety watertank. Fig. Sis asectional perspective of the water-tank.

A represents the bottom board of the coop, which is rectangular in form and constructed, preferably, of wooden boards, which are stably secured from warping and wear by the firmly-affixed cross cleats or battens A, on which the coop rests. Upon the bottom A, near its edges that project sufficiently to guard the sides of the coop, the latter named are secured by the hinge-joints n, as will'be further described. The sides B O are composed of vertical metallic strips g of sheet. metal, preferably such as is termed strapiron} of suitable width and thickness to be strong yet light. The ends of said strips are bent into scrolls g, through which wire rods g are inserted and secured, thus afford tire structure consists.

Serial No. 320,258. (No model.)

ing a skeleton frame for each side. A suitable number of staples 02, having eyes formed upon them, are fastened by their shanks to the bottom board A in lines parallel with its.

edges. The eyes,being loosely engaged with the wire rods g provide hinge-joints, on which the skeleton frames mentioned can rock, so as to fold them inwardly upon the bottom boardA or erect them in parallel vertical planes. The sides B O are covered with screen wire fabric of coarse mesh, of which material, in fact, the major portion of the en- 'One of the sides C is provided with two doors D, these being located oppositely at the edges of the side piece. Said doors are composed each of wire fabric before mentioned, and hinged at a to the vertical strips g, the doors thus constituting each a portion of the side Piece.

Suitable latches are employed to hold the doors D in closed adjustment, a'preferred form consisting of a sheet-metal plate F, cut as shown in Fig. 5.

The latches F are pivoted at h to the outer strips g, and are adapted to swing on these points so as to project one corner q of each across the vertical edge of the engaged door,

thus securing it closed. The provision of a curved slot 1" in each latch-plate serves to stiifen the latch by its loose engagement with the headed stud 1 that projects from the strip g at a proper point to enter the slot and travel therein when the latch-plate is swung to lock or release the door it engages.

The remaining tWo opposite sides B of the coop are constructed in a manner similar to that one of the sides 0 which is not provided with doors, with exception that they are of diminished height to permit them to be mounted upon and loosely secured by staples n to the batten-strips 'm, these latternarned pieces raising the sides B so thattheir upper edges will align with the top edges, of the other two sides 0.

By hinging the sides B on the strips m, as just described, there is provided clearancespace, whereby the sides C may lie beneath the sides B when all are folded, as shown in Fig. 4, the latter having flat surface contact with the adjacent faces of the sides 0.

when the sides B C are elevated vertically.

A center strip 6 is also secured to the side strips 0 midway between the end strips 1), (see Figs. 1 and 2,) which strip is turned down at each end 19 said depending ends being adapted to prevent the sides of the coop from being pressed outward when weight is thrown on the lid.

Screen wire-cloth cl is secured on the strips of the skeleton frame of the lid in any preferred manner. I

The outer ends of the strips 0 of lid A are bent downwardly at right angles, sufiicient length being afforded to the depending portions 0', which hook over the adjacent vertical walls of the sides B and retain them in an upright position when so engaged.

Both of the strips 1) have their ends bent in like manner -to that of the strips 0, said depending ends 0 bearing against the sides 0, which they prevent from being bent outwardly. Other pieces a (see Fig. 5) are attached to the strips b, sufficient space being afiorded between the depending ends of the last-named pieces or ears 0 and the bent ends '0 to permit the sides 0 to enter readily therein, thus causing the depending ears 0 to bear loosely against the inner surface of the side 0 at the four corners of the structure, supporting all the sides vertically by the lid A when it is held down in place.

Apartition-wall e is loosely hinged at e to the under side of the lid A (see Fig. 1,) it being attached to the middle strip 1), as shown.

The rod e which is secured to the scrolled lower ends of the strips which form the frame of the partition-wall e, is interlocked with the open hook I by pressing upon the lid and forcing the swinging partition sidewise,which operation can readily be effected by the in-,

troduction of the fingers of the operator through the meshes of the wire fabric of the lid in an obvious manner.

When the partition wall e is secured, as

' stated, the entire coop is rendered a substantial structure, and will so remain until the interlocking hook I is disengaged from the rod 6 of the partition e and the lid disengaged from its connection with the sides In Fig. 6 is shown the novel feed-magazine provided to hold and deliver a requisite quandelivery-slit 5', through which a proper quantity of seed or grain will descend into the shallow trough' s as it is removed therefrom by the fowls. Onlya limited amount can be delivered at'a time, and there is none wasted.

G is the oblong water-tank having a longitudinal slot in its top and parallel flanges p p extendingfrom the opposite walls of the slots downwardly, their lower edges terminating above the bottom of the tank, as shown at 19 The space between the flanges forms a drinking chamber 19, through which the fowls have access to the water.

A hood r is adj ustably secured to the hanger-wall 'r, and is projected above the water-chamber 19', so as to prevent the fowls from getting their feet in the water or in any way fouling the same, the hood being located at a point to admit the head of the fowl only below it.

Both of thedevices for holding feed and When the coops in quantity are knocked down, folded, and packed together in numbers convenient to handle, they will take up but little room as compared to the same when erected for use, and will be admitted for transport at a lower rate than the more bulky erected coops would be rated at.

From the manner of construction the coops when dismantled or knocked down for return to the owner may be readily cleansed, as water from a hydrant-hose maybe projected thereon and all parts thoroughly washed prior to folding and packing in bundles.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The herein-described knockdown coop, consisting in the bottom, rectangular sides hinged at their lower edges to the bottom to fold inwardly, and the top having end strips 0, provided with downwardly-bent ends 0, to overlap the upper corners of two of the sides, and longitudinally-extendin g strips 1), having depending ends 0 and pieces c parallel therewith, the spaces between the parts 0 c being at right angles to the bent ends 0' and adapted to receive the upper corners of the two opposite sides, substantially as set forth.

2. In a folding poultry-coop, the combination, with a rectangular bottom board, hinged sides adapted to be folded inwardly flat upon each other, and doors hinged to the sides, of

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a lid having depending corner ears adapted to engage the erected sides, a pendent partition-wall hinged to the inner side of the lid, and a hook secured to the bottom of the coop and arranged to interlock with the partitionthe wall a" and overhanging the drinkingwall to hold all the parts of the coop intact, chamber, substantially as set forth.

substantially as set forth.

3. In a poultry-coop, a trough G, having ROBERT YOAKUM' 5 flanges p 19, forming a central drlnking-cham- Witnesses:

ber 19, a hanger-Wall 0", having a hook is, and W. R. MILLS, the hood r, secured along the upper edge of W. M. PECK. 

